9413 (1998) User Reviews

Cluttered, confusing and lacking a coherent storyline...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 2 March 2021]

Now, as much as I like Francis Ng, then I must say that I wanted to like this 1998 movie that he directed and starred in, I really did. But I must be honest and say that the movie was less than mediocre.

Why? Well, because of the storyline. It was all over the place, and there wasn't enough of a red line throughout the course of the movie, so it just felt way too random and chaotic. Sure, there was an overall story arch, but it was cluttered and rather confusing. And that hardly made for an overly enjoyable movie for me.

Sure, the acting in the movie was good enough, but the lack of a properly constructed storyline just made it shine poorly on the acting performances, especially since the characters felt sort of shallow and half-written. By that I mean that the characters needed more of unique and distinctive personalities and characteristics.

Well, I will say that "9413" is watchable, for a single viewing. And I had the chance to sit down to watch it for the first time here in 2021. But I wasn't particularly impressed with what the movie offered.

My rating of "9413" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars. If you enjoy Hong Kong police dramas, then there are far better choices readily available.

Horribly dated

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 21 February 2021]

9413 is a Hong Kong crime thriller directed by and starring Francis Ng. I wasn't a fan of it at all as it's one of those low budget, deeply stylish films from the 1990s which has aged terrible over the years: all arty camera shots, slow motion, cheesy dancing, nobody can walk down a corridor normally without the cameraman doing 'edgy' stuff with his lens. There's a bare semblance of a plot about a cop accidentally killing a hostage and living with the guilt, but this takes up a minimal part of the running time the rest is a boring mix of sex and timewasting.